The population of the seven-county, 86-city, Central Florida region is projected to more than double by 2050, from 3.5 million to 7.2 million.  It is little surprise then that a key question facing the region is how it will be able to sustain this growth.

?How Shall We Grow? Creating a Shared Vision for Central Florida ? is a 15-month project designed to find answers to this important question. The non-profit group myregion.org is coordinating the project, which is being funded by the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Department of Transportation, Central Florida MPO Alliance, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, myregion.org and the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce.

In January and March, myregion.org held the Central Florida Regional Leadership Academy , an emersion into the issues associated with ?How Shall We Grow?? and the first effort of its kind in Florida .  It was cosponsored by the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, UCF Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies, Florida High Tech Corridor Council, and Walt Disney World.

More than 70 elected officials, civic and business leaders from across the region participated in a two-day orientation session in January to learn about national and international best practices. (See ARS Activities for more information about the ARS Board?s role in this process) 

A three-day strategy session followed in late March with team participants from the January orientation working side-by-side with local technical leaders and national expertsincluding ARS Board membersoffering their perspectives on how other regions are dealing with the issue of growth.  The participant teams provided reports on their research into the most pressing issues of transportation, environmental protection, affordable housing, education and regional leadership. The group then used electronic polling technology to rank the region?s challenges according to priority and urgency.  They then spent two days creating strategies on how to move these issues forward. The Academy concluded with each participant making a personal commitment to help promote at least one regional issue.

Participants in the Regional Leadership Academy will also help support the ?How Shall We Grow? Creating a Shared Vision for Central Florida ? project, which will solicit input from more than 5,000 central Florida residents to refine strategies to guide growth.  For more information about the Regional Leadership Academy please visit www.myregion.org